Medicine Report

shotsHow up-to-date are your immunizations? If you are a parent, you might respond that your child is good to go—or, in some cases, that you don’t support immunizations—but what about yourself? If you are a parent with young children, you especially need to get vaccinated to prevent yourself from spreading infectious diseases to your baby; but all adults can benefit from keeping up with their regular immunization schedules.

The thing is, once we’re out of our parents’ homes—and out of the public school system—we often neglect these medicine schedules. Why? It’s likely because we’re not reminded. Nobody hands us an immunization schedule when we get our diplomas. Do you know which shots you need and when you need them? I don’t, either, so I decided to look them up.

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One of the most important concepts behind the Scientific Method is called falsifiability.  A claim is only legitimate if it could be proven false (but is not).  

For example, if I say "I have proven that vitamin Q prevents heart disease," that is a falsifiable claim.  It would be relatively easy to prove that the mythical vitamin Q does NOT prevent heart disease.  This makes my claim legitimate, assuming that I can make my case of course.

However, if I say "Vitamin Q was planted on Earth by space aliens two million years ago," that is NOT a falsifiable claim.  There is no way to prove that vitamin Q was NOT planted here by space aliens.  Since this claim cannot be proven false, it has no scientific legitimacy.


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A new watch word has hit my Snake Oil Radar: "inflammation."  I have noticed a distinct and suspicious trend in things - food especially - being described as "anti-inflammatory."  It's such a broad and sinister term, "inflammation."  And the claim that certain nutrients are anti-inflammatory makes you think, "Well I don't want to be inflamed!"  It can't hurt, right?  To buy the thing someone is advertising as being "anti-inflammatory?"  Only in the sense that it just encourages them.


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US Keeper Tim Howard Suffers from Tourette's SyndromeIn the opening match for the United States against England in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the US was credited with having a strong defense, which was in no small part due to the United States’ goalkeeper Tim Howard, “who made six saves in 90 minutes” . Born and bred in New Jersey, the US national team Goalkeeper stands out in one way from other soccer players and the public at large- Tim Howard suffers from Tourette’s Syndrome.

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